Article on Earth Day by P D Mani

Why do we celebrate Earth Day?

Earth Day is an annual global event, observed on April 22 that celebrates the environmental movement and raises awareness about pollution and the ways to maintain a clean habitat.Read More

On 22 April 1970, the United States celebrated the first Earth Day. More than 20 million people around the U.S gathered together holding rallies, demonstrations and participating in activities to promote a clean and safe living environment. Children, students, adults young and old marched to government institutions pushing for new legislation to protect the Earth on local, state and national levels.

Since 1970, the world celebrates Earth Day to learn how to make a difference. People share ideas and practices; find new ways to work together, practice healthy habits and make sustainable choices. What began as a day of environment preservation in the U.S. is now a large-scale push for clean habitat around the world!

For the next few decades, Earth Day was celebrated across the United States and focused on finding practical ways to protect the environment at home, at work and beyond. In 1990, it was time to take the concept to the global level. More than 200 million people representing 141 countries around the world, came together to celebrate Earth Day and push for environmental improvements on a global level. The event paved the way for future projects including the 1992 United Nations Earth Summit.

Since its inception in 1970, Earth Day continues to grow as a worldwide phenomenon focused on promoting clean living and a healthy, sustainable habitat for people and wildlife alike. Celebrating Earth Day serves as a conscious reminder of how fragile our planet is and how important it is to protect it.

Earth Day has made positive impacts on the environment globally, but it can also play a significant role on local levels as well. Young children, in particular, may not realize that there are many ways they can participate in protecting the Earth and make it a safer place. For example, water conservation, recycling and saving energy are all important parts of protecting the environment the kids in our classroom could contribute to.

Climate change, man-made changes to nature as well as crimes that disrupt biodiversity, such as deforestation, land-use change, intensified agriculture and livestock production or the growing illegal wildlife trade, can increase contact and the transmission of infectious diseases from animals to humans. Despite ongoing efforts; biodiversity is deteriorating worldwide at rates unprecedented in human history. It is estimated that around one million animal and plant species are now threatened with extinction.

The recent Corona virus outbreak poses huge risk to public health and global economy but cleaner air has perhaps been the single greatest positive effect of the lockdown on the environment following the COVID -19 pandemic. Citizens in Northern India are able to see the view of the Himalayan mountain range for the first time in many years, due to the drop in air pollution caused by the country’s corona virus lockdown.

In fact cities across the world have seen pollution levels drop as people have spent less time in vehicles, offices and factories and more time at home. Elsewhere in Europe, cities including Paris, Madrid and Milan have all seen a reduction in average levels of nitrogen dioxide in the month of March, compared to the same period last year, according to new satellite images. While in China, where the Covid-19 pandemic originated, carbon emissions fell by around 25 per cent over a four-week period at the beginning of this year as authorities shuttered factories and people were instructed to stay home, according to an analysis carried out for the climate website Carbon Brief.